Postgame Quotes
March 4, 2013
Recap | Final Stats | Notes |
Kansas 79, Texas Tech 42
March 4, 2013
Postgame Quotes
Kansas head coach Bill Self
On the game:
“We played good after the second T.V. timeout on both ends and shared the ball very well. We didn’t make a lot of shots tonight but we were able to get to the free throw line and get a lot of layups.”
On the first half energy and five alley-hoop dunks:
“We like doing that all the time but you don’t get the opportunities with numbers to throw behind the defense, but we did that. The way they defended us they hedged hard on some ball screens but we were able to throw some lobs behind it. It was fun. We weren’t that efficient offensively but we were able to get some layups early and then we really got out in transition and looked good. In the second half we rebounded the heck out of the ball. It was a great way to send those four studs off and they’ve been studs the whole time they’ve been here. They’ve won a lot of games, got their degrees and been great ambassadors for our university and I was certainly proud of the way our crowd acknowledged them and stuck around to hear their speeches.”
On the seniors’ speeches:
“I didn’t think any of them got emotional when they talked about me but I can’t imagine why, but they did a good job and that’s who they are. They’re good kids, they are class, they love each other and have gotten really close. I’m really happy for them and all we’ve done from a team standpoint is put ourselves in a good position to play a really good game on Saturday.”
On playing Baylor on Saturday:
“They can beat anybody in the country. When they are on, they’re on. We played decent down there in the past and we need to go play decent. We control our destiny. It’s going to be a mad race to the end but considering the best we could do after losing three in a row was to get on a streak and win seven in a row and that’s what we’ve done.”
On Jeff Withey’s play:
“How good was he tonight? Efficient and just played so well, but our whole team played so well. Elijah gets 12 dimes and gets nine in the first half. Everybody played well.”
On Elijah Johnson’s past couple games and the team:
“He’s more aggressive, he’s a heck of a guard and he’s going to continue to play well. Everybody has to pick their game up a little bit and play tougher and be a little bit more together moving into the post season. It means a lot to these guys to win the league. So we have to have a great week of preparation and go down and play the best game we’ve played all year down in Waco.”
Kansas senior center Jeff Withey
On the thoughts of their last home game:
“Today has been kind of crazy. The game was fun and we played hard. For me personally (the thought of the last home game) hasn’t hit me. I don’t think it will for a little while. The Fieldhouse has been good to us and the fans have been good to us. This is going to be a night that we will remember for a long time.”
On his first three-pointer:
“I knew it was going to go in. I was telling the guys before (the game) how I was going to celebrate it. It’s awesome that me and Scott Pollard have a 100 percent three-point percentage. I wanted to take one before the game.”
On making sure they delivered on their last home game:
“It was very important (to deliver). With the fans bringing in a lot of energy, and with Elijah (Johnson) throwing lobs, it just brought more energy to the team and to the Fieldhouse.”
Kansas senior guard Elijah Johnson
On Withey’s three-pointer:
“I told (Withey) that I was going to drag his man, and as soon as he bit I pitched it back to him. As soon as I turned around I saw Jeff already celebrating.”
On the alley-oops:
“We do that a lot in practice because of the way we play. Texas Tech plays like us in a lot of ways so I knew what to read. Once the crowd gets going like that, I wanted to throw more. It just felt good, once I started to gain a lot more confidence. I kept pumping energy into the building so I kept doing it. Jeff actually tried to throw me one tonight and I didn’t know how I would celebrate it, so I think that is why I missed.”
On all the senior’s having great games:
“It’s time to rock out. It’s time to get to business and I think we all know that. I honestly think that the reason (the last home game) hasn’t hit us yet is because we are so focused on what we have to do. We aren’t dwelling on the moment, and that’s where our heads are at the moment. When I say it’s time to ‘rock out,’ I mean it’s time to go out and leave it all out on the court.”
Kansas senior guard Travis Releford
On his emotions walking off the court:
“It really hasn’t hit me, or any of us, yet. I really don’t know how to express that last moment walking off the court.”
On his senior speech:
“I didn’t have anything prepared. I tried to keep it short, because last year we had a guy that was out there for fifteen minutes. I was just trying to get home and rest up.”
Kansas senior forward Kevin Young
On the importance of the fans:
“I think that they are important because they got to see us grow and we got to see them grow. All of the posters and each of their celebrations they have for every one of us is amazing. We are really grateful for having them here with us.”
Texas Tech Head Coach Chris Walker
On Kansas’ ability to get dunks in the game:
“It’s what they do. They did get more than we anticipated. They are much more athletic than us and we simply lacked a little bit of toughness that could have negated some of those things. Once we started to spiral downward it was tough to come back from it. From where we are, with the young and inexperienced team that we have, the number one thing for me is not to get on our guys for this game. We need to bury the tape and focus on the next game as we approach the tournament next week.”
On what they can learn from this game:
“I don’t watch the scoreboard. Right now we are not in the position, as we are in the beginning stages of trying to build something special, to always look at the score board and judge ourselves on if we are being successful or not. This is simply where we are right now. But it is good for our guys to understand, this is why we play in the Big 12, this is why we come here, and this is what it’s like. It’s this level of play that you need to play at, at all times if you want to be a championship team.”
Texas Tech Sophomore Forward Jordan Tolbert
On his thoughts of the game:
“Kansas is a very good team. We just weren’t able to bounce back like we thought we could. We need to get back to practice tomorrow and keep working forward.”
On how coach prepared them for the game:
“We pretty much did the same stuff we usually do. It was obviously a little more intense because it was a top five team in the nation.”
